Collision in Time
by 4thSmalley
Summary: Whilst on a routine mission to a pre-warp planet, the Starship Enterprise discovers two unexpected visitors to the universe. How do UNIT's finest cope with being stranded in an alternate universe, and can they help when the mission turns sour? This is my first fanfic, so any reviews will be gratefully received
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One - Comets**

_Captain's log, Stardate 44195.6 _

_The _Enterprise _in underway to deliver supplies to the observation base on the planet Remmik. The scientists have been observing the behaviour of the pre-warp civilisation that has evolved on the planet, and by all reports they have reached a level of sophistication equal to our twenty first century ancestors. I admit it will be interesting to see the reports of Remmik and how they live without the levels of technology we are used to._

"We have arrived at Remmik, sir," the ensign at the helm announced.

"Drop out of warp and establish an orbit above the observation station ensign," Captain Picard ordered as he stood and straightened his uniform.

As he was about to ask Worf to hail the science station an impact caused the ship to pitch wildly and flung the captain back into his seat.

"Report, Mr Worf," Picard barked as he clambered to his feet again.

"We have sustained heavy damage to the port nacelle, but the rest of the ship is sound," Worf replied as he scanned the data in front of him.

"What was that?" Riker asked, mainly directed towards Data who was the quickest to formulate hypotheses.

"Two electrically charged comets that appeared behind us, one hit us before both continued onward and have struck the planet," Data quickly replied whilst his hands danced over the console in front of him.

"So there is no sign of the _Enterprise _being attacked?" Picard asked.

"No, sir. It seems to have been an isolated and completely unique case," Data confirmed.

"The science teams will be disappointed when they hear about this then," Riker smiled and relaxed a bit.

"Bridge to Engineering, what is your summary of the damage?" Picard called.

"_The damage is severe, but nothing that we can't fix given the time, sir. The warp core was unaffected,_" Geordie's voice could be heard across the bridge.

"Good, Starfleet has not given us a tight deadline for this mission so you will have the time you need Mr LaForge," Picard stopped the communication and turned to Riker. "If you could start to prepare a small away team to go to the observation station, I shall contact Doctor Tarnawska to let them know we have arrived. Mr Worf, please hail the scientists on the planet and direct the feed to my Ready Room."

The _Enterprise_ had arrived in the late afternoon in relation to the time on Remmik, and by evening the supplies had been beamed down to the scientists, along with Picard who had wanted to see the sum total of the scientist's research.

"It is uncanny how similar their progression has been compared to our own. From my perspective it almost seems that it has resulted in a failed attempt for a colonist group to recreate Earth on this planet," Picard mused as the doctor showed him yet another file.

"That is one of the theories we initially started with, but their history shows no records of past disasters that would have meant the original civilisation should have been reduced to this level of technology," the doctor replied.

"Do you think it would be possible to locate the crash site of those comets? Our scientists have never encountered such an anomaly before and they are eager to examine it," the captain explained.

"That is easily done, this is the first comet strike to happen in the year we have been here, so the local populace is going crazy over it," Dr Tarnawska quickly accessed the relevant information and showed the captain where the comet had landed.

"Picard to Riker," Picard tapped his comm badge.

"_Riker here, sir,"_ came the almost instant reply.

"We have located the comets, if the research teams wish to examine it they will have to move fast to reach it before the relevant authorities here do," Picard explained.

"_Understood, I will lead a small team to those co-ordinates immediately, Riker out."_

"That is one dedicated commander you have there," the doctor commented.

"The best one in Starfleet, it will be a blow to the _Enterprise_ the day he accepts a promotion and his own ship," Picard said quietly.

"Perhaps you would like to see more of the military history of this planet?" Tarnawska said quickly to distract the visiting captain from the obviously uncomfortable topic.

Riker, Data and two scientists from the _Enterprise _beamed down a few kilometres away from the crash site of the comets that had caused the damage to the ship. Despite the risks of bringing the obviously inhuman android on the away team, Riker felt his knowledge and strength would be beneficial should a situation turn sour. Data was also useful in being able to lead the team unerringly in the direction of the crash coordinates, and within an hour the group was crouched underneath a tree watching a gathering of locals in the crater that the comet had left.

"We need to get down there and see what is left, preferably without them being there… Data, can you create a distraction?" Riker asked.

"What kind of distraction would you be thinking of? I can go in and talk to them, my appearance would most likely divert their attention from the comet," Data suggested.

"I was thinking more along the lines of go and tamper with their vehicles, blow one up and nick another one. Something to get them all moving away from here," Riker replied, slightly exasperatedly.

"Ah, I understand, I shall proceed with your idea," Data rose and started to head towards a group of vehicles that looked similar to cars in design.

"Try not to be seen, or get caught. Return to the ship if we get separated," Riker called after him.

Within a short space of time one vehicle was starting catch fire and another had started up, causing confusion amongst the group of twelve or so natives who had gathered around the crater. With a lot of shouting and cursing they ran over to try to stop the flames from destroying the vehicle whilst some made a futile effort to catch up with the car Data had stolen.

"It's now or never, let's go," Riker led the way from their spot in the trees down into the crater and stood watch whilst the scientists approached the centre.

"Commander there isn't anything here, the comets have been taken," one of the scientists called over.

"How is that possible, there haven't been any reports of the locals removing the remains," Riker turned to the pair who had scoured the area thoroughly for anything apart from charred earth and burnt rocks.

"Maybe whatever they were burnt up on impact?" the second scientist suggested.

"Either way, we should get out of here," Riker motioned for the pair to follow him, before turning and almost running into the barrel of a gun.

"Not so fast. You are under arrest for trespassing on government property," The owner of the gun stated as six men appeared behind him.

"The government doesn't own this land, and the comet came from the sky," Riker tried to bluff his way out of the situation.

"Anything that constitutes a threat to national security by other nations is the concern, and potential property, of the government. Now I will say it again, you are under arrest. Put your hands on your heads and follow me."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two – Remmikian Justice**

Any hopes that Riker had entertained of negotiating their way out of the situation peacefully disappeared rapidly once the three of them had been searched. Their hidden tricorders and phasers had caused a stir amongst their captors and had extended the time it took the authorities to process the 'trespassers'. Riker, as the obvious leader, was immediately dragged into an interrogation room where he was bombarded with questions, such as what country he was from, why he was at the crash site, and where they had hidden the weaponised satellite that had crashed. Throughout the three hour interrogation Riker sat silent and motionless, hoping that he would be returned to the same cell as the two scientists. Any chances of being rescued were slim though, as their communicators had been confiscated along with everything else, meaning they had no link to the ship.

"I give up with this one, take him back to the cell," The detective ordered the three guards standing at the door.

Riker had put up little resistance during the time he had been incarcerated, but the native humans still felt it necessary to provide enough strength to ensure he did not attempt an escape. With his hands bound with some kind of primitive metal cuffing, Riker doubted he could do enough damage to quickly and quietly subdue three men.

"What do they want with us?" one of the scientists asked quietly once Riker was back in their shared cell. The youth was barely twenty years old, and it looked like he was barely controlling his fear.

"They think we are some kind of spy group sent from another country. When they realise we know nothing they should let us go. Don't worry, Ensign Bragg," Riker remembered the young man's name and record. He was a natural born genius with impressive credentials.

"If you aren't from another country, then where are you from?" a voice asked from across the corridor.

Riker snapped his head in the direction of voice. The front of their cell was covered by bars that allowed no privacy for those inside and ensured the guards could easily locate all the detainees. Through their cell they could see into the dimly lit corridor beyond and the cell that faced theirs. Although pale morning light has started to filter through the high cell windows, it was not enough light to see any cell occupant in detail. Two figures stepped to the front and into the light cast by the corridor's lighting.

"Why should it be any concern of yours?" Riker asked defensively as he inspected the men in front of him.

Riker could see both were tall, with short brown hair and one had a moustache, they were both dressed mainly in green with sturdy boots. Riker decided they must have been from some kind of military organisation, even if their clothing was coincidental and they were just hiking the two men had an air of confidence that only accompanied military training.

"Because if it is true, then it stands to reason that you are not from this planet. Which means we have something in common and we might be able to help each other out," the man with the moustache explained.

"Space travel is impossible," Riker scoffed, hoping to deceive the stranger in case it was a trick.

"For the people of this planet it is, but I know that others have that capability. That is the reason I am here rather than on Earth, I think," the man insisted.

"Seeing as we are stuck here why don't you explain how you got here. If you aren't from this planet," Riker leant against the wall of their cell and stared at the man.

"I head up a branch of the military called UNIT, we specialise in dealing with alien incursions on Earth. My scientific advisor had just reappeared after being away from a long time and was insisting he needed our help, for once. However we got caught in some kind of time current and the last thing either of us remember was a bright explosion knocking us against the TARDIS wall –"

"Did you say TARDIS?" Riker interrupted quickly.

"You know about the TARDIS? So is the Doctor here?" the second man interrupted.

"We have met once, but that was about a year ago," Riker explained feeling guilty as he saw the hope leave the men's eyes.

"No matter," he replied after a few moments. "We can still get out of here without him. But first may we know the names of our fellow prisoners? Just because we are in cells does not allow us to be uncivilised."

"Of course," Riker replied, hiding a smile as the person's mannerisms reminded him of the captain. "I am Commander William T. Riker of the USS _Enterprise_, this is Lieutenant Ward and Ensign Bragg. To whom do we owe the honour of being incarcerated with?"

"Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and Sergeant John Benton, of UNIT," the Brigadier nodded, and Riker could almost see him trying to work out where the two of them stood in terms of hierarchy.

"Now, you seem to have a plan?" Riker encouraged their new friend.

"Our affects are being stored in the evidence room just to the left of us once we leave this corridor, if possible I would like to retrieve my gun before we escape. The door at the other end of the corridor will most likely lead us to an exit, from there we steal some transportation and head back to the crash site. I assume your comrades can collect us from there?" the Brigadier explained.

"We don't even need to go that far, if we can get into the evidence room then we can get away quickly. But first how do we get out of here?" Riker held up his cuffed hands to highlight their predicament.

"You have learnt how to travel through space yet you do not know how to pick a lock?" the Brigadier asked incredulously, holding up his handcuffs as Benton grinned and undid his own cuffs.

"It is something we have forgotten, usually we do not need to escape from the prisons of pre-warp civilisations," Riker grinned as their accomplice quietly reached through his bars and attempted to pick the lock of his door using a piece of metal.

"Pre-what?" Benton asked absentmindedly as the cell door opened and he padded over the corridor to Riker.

"Never mind," Riker winced as he realised the Brigadier and Benton were not from this century.

The Brigadier and Benton moved quickly to remove the handcuffs, cell door then led the way to listen to the sounds emanating from the room beyond the door. "There does not seem to be anyone near the door, can you quickly get through and get into the evidence room?"

"Only one way to find out, all we need to do is reach our communicator badges," Riker whispered.

"Let's go then," the Brigadier inched the door open and peered around it.

Benton and the two scientists waited in in the detention room whilst the Brigadier led Riker down the brightly lit corridor beyond the door and into the evidence room. One man sat in the room at a desk with his back to the door, so the Brigadier quickly slinked forward and knocked him out.

"These are ours, what did you need to collect?" Riker quickly grabbed the evidence bags that contained everything they had lost.

"Just these," the soldier quickly grabbed two pistols in their holsters from a separate shelf and two coats before leading the way back to the cells where they had left the two scientists and Benton.

But as they opened the door they ran straight into the detective and another man. Only the surprise of seeing the prisoners out of their cells enabled Riker and the Brigadier to escape by knocking the two men to the floor and fleeing down the corridor. As the Brigadier and Benton jammed the door Riker fiddled with the evidence bag containing their communication badges, panic and confusion with the packaging making it difficult.

"Riker to _Enterprise_! Five to beam up immediately!" the Commander shouted above the sounds of multiple angry voices getting closer to them.

Just as the Brigadier thought that their captors were about to burst through the door and catch them, he was engulfed in blue light and the room in front of them dissolved.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three – Welcome to the _Enterprise_**

"Transporter Room Two to Bridge, the away team has returned, minus Lt Data," announced an Irish man with curly hair stood behind a control console.

"_Thank you Chief. Riker, report to the bridge,"_ the captain replied sounding slightly annoyed.

"I shall be with you shortly, sir," Riker had noticed the shocked expression on the Brigadier's face. "I need to visit the sickbay first, I shall explain later."

"I'm alright, just need a minute to process this," the Brigadier said quickly as he tried to calm himself. Benton was standing looking shocked but thoroughly entertained by the experience.

"It's standard procedure, we need to make sure you aren't carrying any diseases that could harm anyone on the ship," Riker explained quickly before leading the way to the turbolift. Within a few minutes Riker had left the displaced soldiers in the capable hands of Doctor Crusher.

"So where are you from?" the doctor asked mildly as she scanned the Brigadier, whilst Benton sat on another biobed and was tended by Nurse Ogawa.

"I live a few miles out of London. Well, it would be more appropriate to say _lived_," the Brigadier watched the doctor with interest as she did her tests.

"I'm from Yorkshire," Benton said when the doctor looked at him. "Is this a typical sickbay for your era? It is a lot nicer than what we have back at UNIT."

"The _Enterprise_ is the flagship of Starfleet, so we have the best facilities possible outside of an established hospital," Beverly explained.

"It seems that UNIT lucked out with the draw for military doctors. Our resident saw-bones can make the treatment as painful as the original wound," Benton grinned then saw the Brigadier's expression and tried to stop smiling.

"This is not a military ship, our primary mission is to explore the galaxy and help others who need assistance," Beverly corrected them.

The door to the sickbay slid open and both Riker and Captain Picard entered the sickbay. The Brigadier stood up quickly, still unsure as to the proper response he should give. Benton didn't hesitate and snapped to attention, which the captain acknowledged with a nod.

"Captain, may I introduce you to Brigadier Alistair…" Riker looked at the Brigadier apologetically.

"Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, but I'm usually just called the Brigadier," the Brigadier offered his hand to the captain.

"And this is Sergeant John Benton," Riker continued.

"It was fortuitous that you were also imprisoned at the same time as my first officer, or we may still be trying to figure out where the away team was," Picard said by way of thanks.

"Without the Commander we would most likely still be there too, think nothing of it," the Brigadier replied.

"Will here tells me we have a mutual friend," Picard probed.

"Yes, apparently we have had the, err, _unique_, experience of meeting the Doctor. How long did he grace you with his visit?" the Brigadier asked, not unkindly.

"Less than a week, he is certainly a character. We were not completely sure that we could trust him until he helped us stop a joint Borg-Cybermen invasion," the captain explained.

"I first met the Doctor when the underground was invaded by Yetis, then he was stranded on Earth for five years. In return for helping us save Earth from alien incursions we gave him somewhere to live and do his mad experiments. Which one did you meet?" the Brigadier asked as Doctor Crusher gently pushed him to sit back on the biobed.

"There is more than one?" Picard said, alarmed.

"No, but he can regenerate." The Brigadier noticed the blank faces looking at him so he explained. "If he sustains an injury that is fatal he can completely change his body and survive. Although he becomes a completely new person with a different personality, face, everything."

"That could have explained the quality of his DNA, it looked like it had been spliced together multiple times," Doctor Crusher explained.

"I have met three of his incarnations, and each of them are eccentric but brilliant in their own ways," the Brigadier looked proud and worried at the same time.

"You said you were with the Doctor before you arrived on the planet, how did you get there?" Riker asked.

"The TARDIS was misbehaving, refusing to do what the Doctor wanted. There was some kind of explosion and I was blown backwards, I was expecting to hit the wall of the TARDIS but I fell further than that, then passed out. When I woke up I was on the floor in the crater, and Benton was also on the floor nearby. We waited for a bit before heading out looking for some kind of civilisation, but unfortunately the first vehicle we met contained some kind of police officer who arrested us because of the unusual uniforms and something to do with our eyes."

"Hang on, you woke up in the crater? That means one of you must have been the comet that hit the _Enterprise_," Riker blurted out.

"I do not see how you would have survived, but it would explain the lack of material at the crash site," Picard replied slowly.

"I am detecting trace residue of various particles on you that would not have been present on the planet alone, it is possible you were the comets. Also the inhabitants of the planet below only have black eyes, hence how they picked you out as someone different. The DNA of the populations below has not mutated in the regions necessary for multiple phenotypes to be expressed," Beverly reported as she checked the readouts on the scanner.

"Sergeant Benton, can you lie down for a bit please," Nurse Ogawa's worried tones caught everyone's attention.

"Why, what's wrong?" Benton obliged and quickly looked at the Brigadier with concern.

"The tricorder readings indicate you have a fractured skull," Ogawa looked at him with amazement. "How are you not in pain?"

"I was born with a thick skull, and I haven't had time to stop and think about it," Benton replied easily, before becoming serious and admitting the truth. "I do have a bit of a migraine but I put it down to stress."

"_Captain Picard, this is Data,_" the android's voice startled everyone in the room.

"Welcome back Data, I would like to see you in my ready room in five minutes," Picard ended the communication and turned to the two soldiers. "I must go and debrief my Lieutenant, perhaps once you have been discharged we can organise some quarters for you and explain everything in more detail?"

"Certainly, thank you Captain," the Brigadier nodded his head as Picard left.

"Data, it is good to see you! I'm sorry we left you on the planet," Riker smiled at the android who was in the turbolift as Picard and Riker entered it.

"An apology is not necessary, Chief O'Brien explained that you were captured and so it was beyond your control to return," Data said passively.

"So what happened to you after you stole the vehicle?" Picard led the way into his ready room and motioned for Data to take the seat in front of his desk while Riker sat on the couch to listen.

"The native inhabitants followed me for one thousand, four hundred and seventy nine metres down the track. I avoided capture by puncturing the front right wheel and continued to lure six of the eight men by matching their velocity of fifteen kilometres an hour. Although my pursuers were determined they were unable to maintain the speed required to catch me. Once they gave up the chase I looped back around at thirty degrees to my previous course so as to avoid regaining the attention of the local population. The immediate area around the crash sites was teaming with numerous soldiers, so it took me more time than I would usually require to suitably investigate the area and deduce you were not in the vicinity. After waiting for what seemed like an appropriate length of time I returned," Data explained.

"Thank you for your diligence, it is good to know you are safe. Perhaps Riker could update you on what happened to him whilst you are on the bridge? I intend to introduce Counselor Troi to our new guests," Picard nodded to his two officers and left.

Within an hour the Brigadier and Benton had been assigned two guest rooms next to each other and were waiting the Brigadier's lounge for the promised explanation.

"Well, the Doctor may have stranded us somewhere, but at least he left us somewhere amazing," Benton ventured as he sat and the Brigadier paced. The sergeant was excited by what little he had seen of the ship already, and was pleased that they had found a friendly and hospitable force to stay with.

"Stranded for how long though? I dread to think of what will happen to UNIT, now that Mike has left and you are here, there is no one that I would trust with keeping it running," The Brigadier's honesty gave Benton a small shock and he smothered a smile.

"He will pick us up, and when he does he can just drop us off exactly where we left so there is no difference," Benton said with confidence.

"As long as he doesn't take too long about it, we can hardly fit back into the pattern of things if we are both twenty years older," the Brigadier pointed out, refusing to be lifted out of his dark mood.

However the door chimed and he was forced to be cordial as Captain Picard and a beautiful woman with jet black curly hair entered the room. The Brigadier stopped his pacing and looked at the captain in time to catch a ghost of a smile touch the captain's lips.

"I hope we are not interrupting anything important," the captain said as they entered the room.

"No, I was just trying to think," the Brigadier walked over to the seats.

"We often walk in on the captain doing the same thing," the woman said with a smile before introducing herself as Counselor Deanna Troi.

The Brigadier sat down next to Benton on the sofa, or at least he would be next to Benton when the sergeant returned to his seat after standing at the entrance of the captain.

However Benton still insisted on following his normal routine and organised ordering drinks for everyone. Once Benton had seated himself again Captain Picard started to explain the intricacies of their situation. Despite the four centuries that separated the two pairs, Picard foudn that the two soldiers easily understood everything that the captain said. But as he spoke the captain got the feeling that both the brigadier and sergeant knew more about time travel than his own scant knowledge gleaned from the Doctor's whirlwind visit.

"So the possibility of being stuck here permanently is quite real? It sounds like it was by complete accident that we made it here," Benton clarified.

"From our brief meeting with the Doctor it seems that anything is possible when he is involved, but whether he can return to this universe or not is another matter," the captain said, almost apologetically.

"But as it is a different Doctor we are talking about, perhaps he can get help from the rest of the Time Lords?" Deanna spoke for the first time.

"He was not on speaking terms with them, the Time Lords have only just released him from enforced Exile on Earth. I highly doubt he would approach them even if our universe was about to end," the Brigadier said with certainty.

"He may have been flung through to this universe at the same time, which would mean he could just be stranded with an inactive TARDIS. All we have to do is wait for him to fix it and then find us," Benton pointed out.

"I will alert all Starfleet ships to remain alert for a blue box matching the TARDIS' description, in the mean time you are welcome to remain aboard the _Enterprise_ for as long as it takes for the Doctor to appear. Perhaps Counselor Troi could show you around the ship and introduce you to more of the crew?" the captain offered.

"We would greatly appreciate that, thank you Captain," the Brigadier smiled, and stood with the two members of the _Enterprise_ crew.

Benton stood to attention, and Picard realised he had to address the subject before it became annoying. "Erm, Sergeant Benton. Although I appreciate you are following standard procedure from your era, I feel that the number of people you may have to salute to will severely slow you down, and confuse my crew."

"Sorry sir, I shall try stop," Benton smiled ruefully at Troi who led them out of the Brigadier's quarters for the tour.

For the next couple of hours Troi patiently led the pair around the _Enterprise_ and showed them the important parts of the ship. Neither the Brigadier nor Benton were too enamoured of Engineering as they were not scientists and did not fully grasp the intricacies of space travel. However they were intrigued by the exercise facilities and the mechanics of the holodecks. Finally they ended up in Ten Forward where Deanna introduced the Brigadier and Benton to Guinan.

The Brigadier smiled as Benton was lured into a conversation with Guinan, and took time to closer inspect the other occupants of the room. He had met numerous species throughout his time with UNIT, but this was the first time they were living and working together peacefully for the greater good. A jolly man with blue skin was chatting away to a human, or what looked like a human, and a female with pointy ears like an elf from Earth mythology. Another small group consisted of a man with a metal strip over his eyes, a towering male with an odd head and another human with yellow skin and eyes.

"I take it this is a happy sight for you?" Deanna said quietly to him.

"It gives me hope that our future could be like this. UNIT would never harm any species that come in peace, but so far the only one we have met was the Doctor. We are not ready to share our lives with aliens yet, but it becomes difficult to imagine peace when we are continually defending ourselves," the Brigadier admitted.

"Perhaps when you return home this will be an incentive to attempt peaceful negotiations with future meetings you have with others," Deanna suggested.

"We try to negotiate with all the invaders we meet, but they never seem to want to talk as they assume we are easily defeated. There cannot be peace between enemies until both sides have experienced loss, unfortunately the losses we experience are covered up from the public, and every new species we encounter underestimate us," the Brigadier sighed.

"Although this is an alternative universe to yours, hopefully it is not so dissimilar that your Earth remains standing alone in the galaxy," the counselor could feel the soldiers longing for her words to be true. "Perhaps I should walk you both back to your quarters? You have had a rather hectic day."

Deanna left the two soldiers in their quarters and quickly headed up two decks to the captain's rooms to report. Picard answered his door immediately and offered Deanna a seat whilst he called up two drinks for them.

"The Brigadier and Benton are very intriguing characters. Neither of them seem overly afraid or concerned by their predicament, apart from the prospect of being stranded here for too long. The Brigadier is an atypical figure from our records of that era; I feel he is the kind who would be happier to lead a mission than to be stuck far behind the lines of action. Benton is fiercely loyal to his superior, and almost views him as family. In a way they very much remind me of you and Riker," Deanna said.

Picard raised an eyebrow to the final sentence. "So we shouldn't face any problems with them?"

"The only problem I can foresee is they may become restless just waiting around for the Doctor to turn up again. However I could see whether they would be willing to join in with lessons, their experience of the twentieth century is unique and could provide valuable insight," Deanna suggested.

"Good, I would appreciate it if you could sort that out. I would also appreciate it if everyone could join in with trying to make them feel at home," Jean-Luc added.

"I will pass the message around," Deanna smiled and headed for the door. But before she left the room she turned back to the captain. "I think you should also be involved in socialising with them, you will find the Brigadier interesting."

"I will see if he would like to go riding tomorrow then," Picard said to pacify the counselor.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four - Integration**

With all personnel returned to the ship and the supplies successfully delivered, the _Enterprise_ was en route to starbase 124 to allow the members of the crew time for R and R. Leaving Data in charge of the bridge, Picard offered to take the Brigadier riding on the holodeck whilst Riker and Benton settled on going swimming in the Olympic pool. Both UNIT men were impressed by the extent of the facilities on the starship just for entertainment.

"And we had to fight to get a television installed in the duty room," Benton grinned as he slid into the water.

"It's part of the privileges of being posted to the flagship of Starfleet. Although we do have to share it with all the children on board, sorry we can't use the diving boards yet," Riker nodded to the deep end of the pool where a group of youths were having diving lessons.

"Ah so that is why you joined Starfleet and chose the _Enterprise_, the privileges?" Benton sniped as he adjusted his goggles.

"It was a chance to escape earth and see the stars, almost every child dreams of having this job," Riker said, before quickly deflecting. "Why did you join UNIT?"

"Promotion and a chance to stay in England. I had no idea what UNIT did but I found out very quickly, and luckily the Doctor was exiled to Earth so we were able to defend ourselves pretty effectively with his help," Benton explained.

"How do you cope with the Doctor all the time?" Riker shook his head in amazement.

"He grows on you; he may be eccentric and forgets that we don't all have degrees in science but the Doctor more than makes up for it by saving us on multiple occasions. He became more tolerable after there was an incident and we ended up with all three versions of him in the same room at once. Whilst having to work with himself I think he realised how annoying he could be. so he became a bit more reasonable," Benton's reminiscing caught Riker completely off guard.

"Three of them at once?!" Riker exclaimed, but Benton was already off swimming up the pool.

"The Doctor is one of the most infuriating people I have ever had to deal with. But he is brilliant and willingly risks his life to stop injustice," the Brigadier admitted.

"He risked a lot when he helped us by going back in time and recovering a clean record of the Borg collective conscious," Jean-Luc agreed.

"I've seen him prepared to strand himself in a desolated reality to ensure that we and our universe were not destroyed, and then destroyed the insane Time Lord to release him from his suffering. And within the first few months of him being exiled we had to try to cure a virus that would wipe out the entire human population, he worked around the clock for four days to find the cure," It was obvious the Brigadier greatly admired the eccentric Time Lord.

The two men were seated on the Arabian thoroughbred horses of their choice and were taking a rest at the top of a steep rise, with a breath taking view projected below them. Although the Brigadier guessed that the holodeck was mimicking a European climate and vegetation, he wasn't exactly sure where they were supposed to be.

"I can see why you put up with him. So where did you learn to ride?" Jean-Luc changed the conversation.

"While I was posted in the Middle East we occasionally had to run messages to the nearest village if the generators went down, and if we had to go on patrol it was easier with horses than trying to force vehicles over the terrain," the Brigadier explained.

"Hence the different tack," Picard nodded as he realised.

"I never could get used to the bulky saddles that were used in England," the Brigadier said ruefully, shifting slightly in his saddle that was much thinner and lighter than the one Picard had chosen. "I'm surprised horse riding is still practiced in the future, it's not very popular even in the twentieth century."

"I learnt as a child growing up in the countryside. Most other youths were more interested in the vehicles, but my family was rather more interested in traditional methods of life. We didn't even have a replicator installed in our house, which is unheard of on Earth," the captain said.

"Picard, that is a name that originated in eastern France I believe," the Brigadier mused aloud.

"Yes, my family has owned the same vineyards near La Barre for six generations," Picard sounded impressed.

"I am afraid that I haven't seen that region of France since I passed through it at the end of the war," the Brigadier said ruefully. "The areas that hadn't been destroyed by the war were decimated by desperate locals trying to survive on anything edible."

"The end of the war enabled the region to flourish and for our vineyards to expand," Picard explained.

"Mutantur Omnia nos et mutamur in illis," the Brigadier said quietly.

"All things change, and we change with them," Picard looked at the Brigadier with respect, but his further response was interrupted by an announcement.

"_Bridge to Captain Picard,"_ Data's voice emerged from Picard's badge.

"Picard here," the captain looked apologetically at the Brigadier.

"_I am sorry for the interruption, but Doctor Tarnawska has requested that she can talk to you immediately. She says there have been developments back on the planet,"_ Data reported.

"I will be up immediately," Picard tapped his badge and dismounted. "I am sorry to cut this short. Feel free to continue whilst I see what this is about."

"Thank you for sharing your time with me, I have thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I think it would be wise for me to leave with you so I know how to escape this room," The Brigadier said, only half in jest.

The Brigadier returned to his quarters and spent some time choosing a different outfit from the replicator before showering. He settled into the chair by the desk with a notepad and pen with the aim of keeping a diary of the strange events, but was distracted ten minutes later by a ship-wide call for all senior officers to report to the bridge. Being unable to join them and know what was going on gave the Brigadier a sense of helplessness he had not felt in many years, so to try to distract himself he attempted to interact with the computer to find some music to listen to.

"It seems that our presence on the planet heightened tensions between the various factions on Remmik. The scientists are worried that an all-out war could be imminent and are requesting that we returned for a short while in case it becomes too dangerous for them to remain on the planet," Picard explained to his crew in the observation lounge. Outside the windows the brown planet was once again in its previous position.

"Who are the main factions responsible for this escalation?" Riker asked.

"The one that the comet landed in, the Kimma, and another population almost on the other side of the globe who are known as the Rucan. It seems both are paranoid at the other's ability to be manufacturing and amassing weapons to attack the other, similar to what occurred between America and Russia in the late twentieth century," Data informed the group.

"The Cold War was only stopped because the Soviet regime collapsed; I assume we are not planning to leave events in the hope that will occur?" LaForge said.

"This all resulted from our technology falling into the wrong hands, is it possible we could just go and talk to the powerful people in Kimma? We have already broken the Prime Directive," Troi pointed out gently.

"By trying to turn those with the most power away from the idea of war, we might be able to avert a disaster," Data agreed.

"Who is to say they were not going to be starting a war soon anyway, perhaps it would be best to leave them to it," Worf muttered.

"That may be true, but it is our interactions that have started this escalation, so we are duty bound to stop it," Picard said firmly, understanding that it was only the Klingon's warrior instincts talking.

"Should we try to broadcast a message on their communication systems, or go and visit their leaders personally?" asked Riker. "They weren't exactly open to visitors last time we went down."

"But it is more personal and easier to prove that we are a neutral faction that accidentally caused this if a representative goes. I will contact the scientists at the observation outpost below and see how they advise we contact the leaders," Picard said and prepared to adjourn the meeting.

"What about the Brigadier and Benton?" Riker asked as people started to prepare to leave. "They are both men of action and sitting around will not keep them happy. It would be highly unlikely that they didn't hear the ship announcement and they will most likely want to help out if they can."

"We keep them informed, and request they stay neutral through all this. In the meantime I would appreciate it that you continue to try to include then in activities," Picard adjourned the meeting.

Doctor Crusher was eager to learn how the military of the twentieth century were trained in emergency medical care, so she was quick to ask if the two soldiers could demonstrate a few techniques. Although his skills were a little rusty, the Brigadier and Benton were able to show her many 'primitive' and forgotten methods of stemming bleeding, binding broken limbs and stitching wounds in emergency situations. The latter method drew the attention of all the nurses in sickbay as well as the fascinated doctor.

"How is that effective at stopping bleeding?" a nurse said, before realising it sounded disrespectful.

"If done poorly it won't be much good, but in an emergency anything is better than nothing. Normally we are trained how to stitch patients up by visiting hospitals and witnessing actual cases. Do you have a knife of some kind?" the Brigadier asked Doctor Crusher mildly.

"I doubt that a physical demonstration is necessary," the doctor said quickly as she realised his intent.

"On the contrary, I've found that the soldiers I commanded never truly appreciated their skills until they had to face an enemy," the Brigadier looked expectantly at the doctor, but when a knife was not forthcoming from the nurses he turned to Benton who rummaged in his pocket and produced a tool that was unfamiliar to the medics.

"What is that?" Doctor Crusher asked as she eyed the small metallic object in Benton's palm.

"It's called a pen knife, useful in tight situations to help soldiers survive when they are stranded without equipment," the Brigadier explained.

"Sir, I insist that I am the guinea pig in this demonstration," before the Brigadier had a chance to argue with the sergeant, Benton flipped the knife out and pressed it lightly across his forearm. Like any good soldier Benton kept his gear in excellent condition, so the blade easily cut deep enough to need the appropriate medical treatment.

The nurses around him gasped at his cool demeanour while blood started to dribble from the cut down to his wrist.

"It was not necessary to turn yourself into a patient," the doctor quickly grabbed the tools she needed to stop the bleeding and pain.

"Don't worry Doctor, I've had much worse injuries than this and I've had to work through them," Benton smiled gently at the worried woman.

"Severe concussion and suspected fractured skull, coupled with lacerations and strained shoulder is the first example that comes to mind," the Brigadier said absent mindedly as he worked.

"A convoy was ambushed and I was dragged out of a van," Benton explained to the confused looks that greeted that statement. "We managed to find that missile again though and storm that prison, sir."

For a few minutes the nurses watched in fascination as Benton sat patiently whilst his commanding officer sewed the skin shut again and successfully stopping the bleeding. Apart from the occasional wince from an excessive tug on the thread, Benton was content and easily hid the pain that was worse than he remembered from the last time he had to have a wound stitched. Perhaps it was the lack of adrenaline that usually dulled the pain, but he realised this was not the best idea he had had as the Brigadier was not the gentlest medic.

"How does that stop the bacteria getting in? Surely infection is inevitable with the wound still partially open," the same nurse asked.

"You bind it with bandages, or the next best thing if you are without a med kit," the Brigadier grabbed a bandage from the biobed next to him and deftly wrapped Benton's left arm tightly in the material and tucked the loose end into the bandage.

"Won't it leave a scar?" the naïve nurse asked.

"Of course, we don't have your technology to stop that. Think of it as another incentive not to get shot," Benton moved to roll his shirt sleeve down again.

"That was extremely interesting to watch, now I can heal it properly," Beverly started forward.

"No need, it will be healed enough to remove the stitches in a few days then it will safe to leave alone," Benton smiled to reassure her. "And it will be useful for you to observe the rate of healing so you can see how it does."

"I insist, we have seen the effectiveness of stitches so there is no need to remain wounded," the look on Beverly's face halted any further arguments from both men.

"I should have shot you in the leg, he would have been insisting you heal him quickly then," the Brigadier teased his friend.

"No running or dancing? I would go mad from boredom," Benton said with mock despair.

"You dance?" Beverly's surprise was mirrored by all the nurses present. Noticing Benton's discomfort, the doctor quickly continued. "Perhaps you and I should meet on the holodeck some time and do some practicing."

"It would be interesting to see what styles have made it to this century," Benton smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five – UNIT vs The _Enterprise_**

That evening Riker and Worf had decided to test the skills of the two guest soldiers. The story of Benton calmly cutting himself and being stitched up again had spread through the ship, and Worf was eager to see if this attitude was reflected in their fighting technique. As a result Worf had spent a few hours programming a variety of simulations that would test different styles of fighting in each scenario. From a simple hand to hand battle to test brute strength and skill to an elaborate warehouse filled with obstacles to test cunning, Worf had thought of everything.

Riker was also interested in finding out more about their talents, but decided to present the challenge as more of an example of what could be done with the holodecks. He knew the Brigadier and Benton would see through the excuse immediately, but it would be a more appropriate angle than Worf's direct challenge.

"Just some fun on the holodeck?" Benton grinned at the innocent invitation Riker had sent. He had gotten used to the controls on the replicator and was flicking through the list of clothing available. However nothing appealed to him so he shrugged and retrieved his freshly cleaned UNIT uniform. He was just finishing lacing up his boots when the door chimed to announce the arrival of Riker and Worf.

"There were other sets of clothes available from the replicator," Riker said as he saw what Benton was wearing.

"It's habit, if I'm going to fight I want to do it in the uniform I am comfortable in," Benton noted that both the Starfleet officers were wearing black fatigues that looked like they were made form thick durable material.

They called on the Brigadier, who emerged wearing his UNIT uniform too. "Well, if we are going to do team exercises this makes it easier to choose sides," he said as he noticed the outfit choices with traces of a smile.

Initially the four loosely worked together to overcome the initial programmes Worf had designed. Riker recognised a few of them as being similar to the security chief's workout programmes, but kept silent as he realised Worf was intentionally seeing how much stress and strain the two humans could put up with. The Commander's experience of Worf's workout meant he could easily defend himself whilst surreptitiously watching the other two humans. Worf was too engrossed in tackling any and all opponents he saw to evaluate their guest's performance, so Riker guessed he might be recording the session.

Benton quickly turned round and landed a solid punch to the charging alien's stomach before flipping it over his shoulder onto the ground and used the momentum to move backwards out of the range of another opponent's grasp. The Brigadier was somewhere above him, having noticed there was someone hiding above them ready to pounce, so he had found a way up to remove the threat. However Benton was more concerned about more immediate problems, such as the enemy that was slowly advancing towards him. The brute almost looked like a gorilla with a flattened head and hardened plates growing on its body like armour, and easily stood a foot taller than the human. Benton's previous tactics would not be useful with this opponent, as the person's armour stopped Benton from easily knocking him out, and the weight meant Benton could not throw him. As Benton hesitated, he forgot his surroundings and tripped backwards over the motionless body of his last victim.

The sergeant landed heavily on his left arm and he winced in pain, before a growl above him dragged his attention back up to the huge alien above him who had drawn a huge knife from his belt. Benton sighed resignedly and tensed up, ready for the killing blow.

Riker saw the interaction and was about to call for the computer to freeze the programme when he saw motion. A large mass detached itself from the cliff above Benton and fell straight onto the shoulder's of the knife wielding enemy. The impact forced the enemy onto his back and his head impacted with a rock with a resounding _crack_ that made Riker wince. Benton shakily got to his feet and offered a hand to the Brigadier who had rolled clear using the remaining energy from his drop and was still crouched cautiously watching the armoured enemy.

"That was one of the most reckless and courageous things I have seen in here! Even Worf would have paused at jumping ten feet," Riker walked over and helped dust of the Brigadier's back.

"I couldn't exactly let my sergeant be stabbed," the Brigadier said modestly.

"The safety settings would have stopped any mortal damage being done, and I was just going to freeze the programme," Riker explained.

"Could you do it slightly quicker next time?" the Brigadier rolled his eyes.

"That was a good fight, bold move," Worf finally reached the group, having had to step over multiple motionless bodies.

"How are you feeling, do you want to carry on to the fifth programme or call it a night?" Riker asked.

"I think we have enough time for another one, we don't want to keep you two up in case you have an emergency tomorrow," Benton said quickly, with forced joviality.

"For the final one I think we should use this one. Computer, open programme Worf Team 2," Worf said.

Immediately the rocky scenes and lifeless bodies disappeared and were replaced with the warehouse environment. The Brigadier and Benton quickly scanned the area to get the gist of the room before turning back to Worf to hear their instructions.

"This programme is designed to test defensive skills as well as cunning and teamwork. It would run better with larger groups, but for now we can run it with just the four of us. The aim of the programme is to eliminate the other team or force them into submission using any method you wish. At each end is a base with a few simulation phasers that will not hurt or kill, but it will be obvious if you are hit by one. It is important that any actions carried out in the programme must reflect your decisions you would make if these weapons were real, for example surrendering if you are disarmed and your opponent is aiming their phaser at you. Once we reach our bases I will set a three minute countdown to prepare yourselves before you can start attacking. Any questions?" Worf explained.

After Worf directed the two UNIT men towards their base the four men split and headed to the two bases.

"Any plans so far, sir?" Benton asked as they weaved through the room stacked with various boxes and barrels.

"I've noticed Riker watching us a few times whilst we were running through the other programmes, and I think I know what he expects us to do. So we have to do something radical and unexpected," the Brigadier said quietly as he scanned the room for specific items.

"How do you want to go about winning this?" Worf asked as they reached their base and grabbed a phaser each out of the line of about ten phasers.

"UNIT soldiers seem to have been trained to be cautious, to defend themselves thoroughly and ensure their survival over a quick win. So they will either find somewhere defensible and wait for us to find them, most likely alone as we would have to split up to cover the whole area; or they will try to be unexpected by charging towards us as soon as they can attack. I suspect the first plan, so we can use that to our advantage by moving as fast as possible to their base and try to catch them out by circling round them and using the element of surprise," Riker suggested.

"The Brigadier did not seem to be cautious in the last programme," Worf pointed out.

"Benton was in danger so he had to act. It seems UNIT are used to being in danger so have become determined to protect each other as much as themselves," Riker replied.

"True. So we head straight for them and attack before they can move far?" Worf rolled his shoulders then crouched low in preparation.

A bell rang loudly to signal the start of the match, and the two members of the _Enterprise_ crew ran as fast and as quietly as they could whilst being bent almost double. In under two minutes they had cleared the majority of the room and were almost within phaser range of the UNIT base. Riker paused and cautiously looked over a large box and stared in surprise at the modifications to the base.

The Brigadier and Benton had used the three minutes to drag as many boxes and barrels to their base and had heavily fortified it. The two doors had been blocked and a roof had been hastily erected to stop an aerial assault, leaving a single slit about two foot long as the only opening in the base.

"I was not expecting modifications that drastic," Riker whispered as he tried to see any motion within the base.

A sudden flash of light emerged from the darkness and slammed into the box next to Riker's head and caused him to duck quickly.

"There is no way we can easily reach them," Worf said, angry at the prospect of being beaten at his own game.

"There is no opening around the back, so they are blinded on that side. I can stay here and distract them whilst you slip round the back to where they cannot see you. If you move fast enough you could slide one of the roof boxes off and shoot them before they notice you," Riker suggested.

"Good idea, keep them busy," Worf retreated a few metres back before picking a route around the base.

Riker only half saw Worf disappear amongst the obstacles as he kept the majority of his concentration focussed on the fortified base in front of him. The Brigadier and Benton were keeping up a continual stream of fire, making it hard for Riker to pop his head around the crate to shoot at the base. Suddenly the firing slowed slightly and Riker hoped they were thinking that Worf and himself had retreated. Using the lull to his benefit, Riker repositioned himself so that he had better leverage on his legs to move quicker as he planned to attack. But before he could lean over the box he felt cold metal being pressed against his neck.

"Surrender yourself, now," despite the order being whispered, Riker could hear the authority in the voice.

With his back to the Brigadier, Riker allowed himself to grin in admiration as he slowly placed his phaser on the floor and raised his hands to his head.

"Remain here for the rest of the battle please," the Brigadier scooped up the surrendered phaser.

Suddenly there was a loud sound of scraping and a roar, announcing Worf's success at reaching and destroying part of the fort. A slightly less animal-like shout told Riker and the Brigadier that Benton was also out of the battle.

"It is even again," Riker whispered as the Brigadier quickly searched the room.

Without bothering to reply, the remaining UNIT soldier turned round and disappeared into the maze of obstacles once again. The Brigadier moved fast in a circular path towards the area behind their base, until he reached another area that Benton and he had cleared it their hectic three minutes of preparation. At one end another structure had been created, not nearly as secure as the original base but still a reasonably good place to take up a defensive position, at least that was what the Brigadier was hoping Worf would assume that was his intention. He quickly placed Riker's commandeered phaser in a half hidden position before retreating to a specific point near the start of the gauntlet.

Worf was systematically and cautiously combing the paths between the crates and other items, hoping to catch the last human alive. Quite close to his location he heard a crate fall and a muffled curse being uttered. Worf inwardly smiled with satisfaction as he headed towards the sound, before coming to an oddly clear patch where he stopped. At one end a lot of crates had been piled together and Worf glimpsed a phaser. He dove forward to gain the protective cover of a crate before quickly firing a few blasts at the structure. But there was no returned fire.

The Klingon raised his head above the top of the crate with the intent of inspecting the barricade more closely when he heard something slam into the ground behind him. As he spun towards the sound, he heard the sound of a phaser being shot and a force similar to being punched hit him in the chest. The Brigadier had used a lid as cover and blended in with the corner behind him, revealing himself when the Klingon was in sight.

"You tricked me," Worf sounded both angry and respectful.

"The only way I could win, you are too good at everything for me to have a chance of winning in a straight confrontation," the Brigadier said to pacify the huge man.

"That was a wise move," Worf led the way back to the UNIT base.

"The diversion worked, good idea," the Brigadier approached the fortified base and helped Benton to remove the crate that blocked one of the doors.

"We need to make the roof heavier next time," Benton said ruefully, glancing at Worf.

"And we need to up our game next time, I thought we would have got you easily in this," Riker admitted.

"Best two out of three?" Worf said hopefully.

"Perhaps another night, the Brigadier was right when he said we need to remain alert over the next few days," Riker said with regret.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note  
Sorry for the delay in posting, I have started a placement as part of my Uni degree and things have been rather hectic in the real world! However, I shall endeavour to be more regular with postings now... and back to the story

**Chapter Six - Escalation**

The plan to contact the President of Kimma was finalised, and Riker was concerned with it.

"I strongly disagree with your decision to beam down alone, they are likely to capture you and won't accept your explanations," Riker said forcefully.

"Which is why I am carrying two communicators, LaForge has altered the second one to immediately beam me up when I press it. We both know I am the better negotiator of the two of us, so it is best if I go, and if we take too many people then it will start to look threatening. By going straight into the President's office I will only have to face him," Picard tried to reassure his subordinate.

"I'm still going to put together a security team to come after you in case," Riker said, not reassured at all.

"See you in an hour, Number One. Energize," Picard disappeared in a whirl of blue light.

The office that the Captain appeared in was sparsely furnished with a few bookcases and a large desk, behind it sat a thin man in a large chair. A couple of paintings of pleasant countryside scenes adorned the wall, whilst the nation's flag hung behind the man.

"Who the heck are you? How did you do that?" the man behind the desk stood up and retreated slightly in shock. He was at least three inches taller than Jean-Luc and had thick black hair slicked backwards in a professional look. The man's expensive black suit and fearful black eyes made his skin look paler than it probably was.

"President Salixa? I would ask that you remain calm, I have come to try to explain the events of the last few days," Picard said gently as he moved forward a pace.

"Don't come any closer!" President Salixa leant forward and pulled a gun out from under the desk.

"I'm not going to harm you, I just came to talk. My name is Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and I am not from your planet. This might take a while, perhaps you would like to sit down again?" Picard motioned to the large chair.

The president sat down gingerly and rolled his chair forward so that his knees were under his desk. He gestured for Picard to continue before placing his hands on the arms of his chair.

"You are not the only intelligent lifeform in the universe, and some others are slightly more advanced than you are. We have been observing your planet for a few months, and have noticed that you would be ready to explore the stars within a few decades. Normally that is when a representative of the Federation of Planets would contact you and explain all this; however our accidental interaction with your authorities a couple of days ago has caused some problems for you."

"Wait, those spies were your men?" Salixa said.

"Yes, the comets that struck your planet were unusual in that they had an electrical charge and also hit our ship. Our scientists were interested in studying them so we came to retrieve a sample of them. Unfortunately things did not go according to plan; otherwise my men would have been and gone without your noticing. As a result of our interference you now believe that the Rucans are in possession of advanced technology and both sides are preparing for a war. I urge you to stop this escalation and stalk talks for peace," Picard said with feeling.

"Even if I believed your story, what evidence do you have to show you aren't just a poorly trained assassin?" the president asked.

"An assassin would have made up a more logical story than that, or just shot you. As it is surely the fact I appeared in your room must go some way towards proving my story," Picard said.

Just then the door directly behind Picard burst open and six soldiers stormed into the room and aimed their guns at the stranger. Before the captain had a chance to reach into his pocket and activate his emergency communicator one of the men shot his gun. A dart thudded into his chest just below his right collarbone, and Jean-Luc immediately felt a cold numb sensation spread from the area. Gingerly he reached upwards to pull the dart out of his skin, and tried to focus on his breathing to stop the room spinning. Suddenly Jean-Luc dropped to his hands and knees and struggled to breathe as the world slowly went black.

"The captain should have been back by now," Riker paced the bridge restlessly.

"You said that two minutes ago," Troi snapped.

"But it is true!" Riker stopped in the centre of the bridge and glared at the brown planet below.

"_Transporter Room One to Bridge,_" Chief O'Brien's voice sounded out.

"Go ahead O'Brien," Riker said hopefully.

"_We've lost the signal of both the Captain's communicators. He was moving when we lost contact, so he may have gone below ground or somewhere where the signal is being interrupted_," O'Brien reported.

"Alert me the moment his signals reappear, Bridge out," Riker glanced at Troi with concern in his eyes.

"If he has been taken then we have no idea where he would be held, alert the scientists and then we will have to wait for them to find something," Deanna said quickly to stop Riker from charging in and potentially making the situation worse.

"Fine, you have the bridge whilst I go contact the scientists," Riker marched into the captain's ready room.

When he returned to consciousness the first thing Picard noticed was he was very cold, and his mouth was unbelievably dry. The captain tried opening his eyes but discovered someone had tied a tight blindfold over his them, and when he tried to raise a hand to remove it Jean-Luc learnt he was also tied to a chair. Someone had taken his uniform shirt and he was sitting in just the black shirt he wore underneath it, the coarse rope that bound his wrists rubbed painfully on his skin.

"Take these to a scientist and see if they can figure out what the purpose of them are," said a voice.

"Sir, he is awake," another person spoke over the sound of retreating boots once he noticed Jean-Luc move.

"Good, now perhaps we can get some proper answers out of this liar. Give him a drink."

Jean-Luc felt someone yank on the ties of his blindfold, forcing his head backwards to pour water into his mouth. Unsurprisingly the man was not very caring in his task and Jean-Luc was worried he may drown as water overflowed from his mouth and up his nostrils. He was starting to seriously panic when he felt a slicing pain on the back of his head when his blindfold was carelessly cut. Immediately after the force was released Picard flung his head forward and hastily cleared his lungs.

"Had enough to drink?" the man in front of him said with false concern.

Picard fixed the man with a look of contempt whilst breathing deeply. The metal-lined walls reflected the light emitted from the dull bulb and enabled him to see his captor clearly enough. Black seemed to be the colour of choice for clothing on this planet, as this man was fully clothed in it. The military styled uniform barely contained the mass of muscles on the man, and his ferocity was accentuated by the shaven head and black eyes.

"My name is War Chief Kreed, who are you?" Kreed bent down so he was at the same eye level as Picard.

"Captain Jean-Luc Picard," he whispered hoarsely.

"Your real name, we know you are a spy who wanted to trick the president into accompanying you into a trap," Kreed slapped Jean-Luc across the face, seemingly carelessly. However the force was enough to cause black spots to appear in the captain's vision and stun him slightly.

"Torturing me will not result in me changing my story from the one I have already told you, because that is the truth," Picard said simply.

"I wish I had the same conviction that you do, but I never could believe a lie," Kreed stated.

"As long as you believe I am lying I have nothing more to say to you," Jean-Luc closed his eyes and braced himself for what was to come.

"What am I supposed to do with these?" an exasperated young man stood amidst a room filled with technical equipment and stared at the pile of items sitting in front of him on the laboratory bench. His mess of curly brown hair and nervous energy seemed out of place with the orderly room.

"Kreed wants to know their purpose; we found them on a spy. Work quickly, Dafydd, as I have no idea when he will be up to check on you," the guard advised to the nervous scientist.

"Thanks for the warning, Lukas," the man dug his hands into pockets and stared at the golden objects before him with despair.

Within an hour he had discovered that the casings were made of gold and platinum, but the insides were hollow and filled with circuitry. Beyond that Dafydd had no idea what its use was as he had graduated in biology rather than physics, or electronics if he really wanted to know what the objects did. Exasperated, Dafydd threw the badge down onto the laboratory bench and was shocked when it beeped at him. He picked up the second badge and studied it carefully, before laying it flat on his palm and pressing the upper side. The badge didn't make a sound, but it did compress slightly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven – Evidence**

"Transporter Room One to Bridge, Captain Picard's combadge and emergency communicator have just been activated," O'Brien's professional tone could not hide his relief.

"_Bring him back, I don't care what the ramifications are_," Riker ordered.

The transporter room was lit up as the machine changed from idle to active and beamed up the targeted lifesign.

"_Do you have him, O'Brien?_" Riker asked.

"I'm sorry, sir. Whoever activated the badge is certainly not the Captain; can Lieutenant Worf send a couple of security personnel to me?" O'Brien reported, watching the stranger carefully.

"What… Where?" the man gibbered as he backed up to the wall of the transporter pad.

"Keep calm, we mean you no harm," O'Brien found himself comforting this distressed man.

The transporter chief thought that the situation couldn't get any worse, when Worf himself appeared through the door and sent the man over the edge into a full blown panic attack. In desperation he tried to run off the transporter pad but tripped over his own feet and fell heavily onto the floor, knocking himself out on the wall in the process.

"We better get someone from sickbay," Worf growled in annoyance.

Beverly was quick to respond to the summons, and once she had determined that Dafydd had not received any injuries that would be exacerbated by moving him she had them both beamed to the sickbay.

"Another visitor so soon? We are going to need more guest rooms at this rate," Nurse Ogawa joked as she started scanning the unconscious patient.

"This one is not going to be so easy to look after, he knocked himself out whilst panicking on the transporter pad," Beverly said.

"Maybe we should introduce him to the Brigadier and Benton when he comes round, try and keep him calm by leaving him with others who don't belong here," Ogawa suggested.

"I'll suggest it to Deanna, for now let's just focus on making sure he is alright," Beverly replied thoughtfully.

The knowledge that this youth would be terrified when he woke up made Beverly feel more protective of him. Being unconscious, Dafydd's features were smooth and absent of any worried lines, making him look his age rather than ten years older as usual. His curly brown hair was flopped messily over his face, so Beverly gently brushed it back before continuing her scan of his neck to check for damage.

Dafydd awoke in a completely strange room, and immediately started panicking. The room was a cream colour and smelled clean, two things he could never associate with the government buildings in Kimma's capital city. Spotting a door, Dafydd tried to sit up with the intention of leaving, but he couldn't move anything apart from his head.

"Woah there, keep calm," a man and a woman appeared through the door at the sounds of his struggling.

"What have you done to me? You've paralyzed me!" Dafydd yelled.

"You still have control of your body, but we have activated the biobed's containment field so that you couldn't get up and wander around the ship before we had a chance to talk to you. Once you have calmed down we will turn it off, we don't want you to be hurt again," Deanna explained gently.

"Sorry, I do not do well in stressful situations, hence why I chose to be a scientist so I could avoid being conscripted in the army," Dafydd explained.

"They force people to join the military on your planet?" said Deanna, astonished.

"Unless you can prove your usefulness in other areas, but even then you have a high chance of being seconded to a military operation. Cooks and nurses are often transferred. I specialised in biology so I am not much use to the military. Chemists and physicists can easily find out if their weapons are effective at killing people, so why pay another person to confirm it? I was actually doing some meaningful research up until few months ago I got dragged into the government controlled science division for no reason," Dafydd said with contempt.

Deanna could feel the young man's fear being replaced with anger and sadness. Deciding that he was calm enough, Deanna leaned over and pressed the button to release Dafydd. "I am Counselor Deanna Troi and this is Commander William Riker, we are aboard a starship orbiting your planet."

"Why am I here, what do you want with me?" Although the man was calmer now that he was released, Deanna could still sense a nervous energy bubbling throughout his psyche, so she quietly let Riker know to treat Dafydd gently.

"Somehow you got hold of this communicator, and it was programmed to instantly transmit a signal so that we would bring the holder back to our ship. However, it was meant to be used by our captain so that we could immediately get him out of trouble," Riker said and held out the emergency communicator.

"I thought the technology looked too advanced to be Rucan," Dafydd finally noticed both officers wore the same object on their chests.

"Do you know what happened to the man who wore this?" Riker decided to stop dancing around the topic.

"I hadn't heard about any intruders, but then being in the labs I am out of the way and usually last to hear news," Dafydd said apologetically and started pacing and wringing his hands. "Although when I was given them by a guard he said that War Chief Kreed was going to be visiting soon to hear of my discoveries. If he is involved with this then that means he would be with your missing person, so I could try to find out where he is. Who is missing?"

"Our captain," Riker said shortly.

"Right," the statement stopped Dafydd dead in his tracks.

"_Security team two to cargo bay one,_" the announcement surprised everyone.

"Worf, what's going on?" Riker tapped his communicator.

"_An unauthorised object has been reported to have appeared in the cargo bay,_" Worf announced.

"I would be incredibly surprised if it was from Kimma," Dafydd said in response to Riker's questioning gaze.

"I'm on my way," Riker said and ended the communication.

"Brigadier! Do you think…?" Benton had emerged from his room at the same time as the other UNIT soldier.

"I think it is," the Brigadier smiled and matched Benton's stride. In no time at all the two were hovering in the corridor near to the doors of the cargo bay, waiting for the security team to disappear inside.

"You can come in with us if you want," Riker's quiet voice startled them and he grinned at their sheepish looks. "It doesn't take a genius to realise who you think has arrived."

"We thought that if it is the Doctor then we are more likely to recognise him, and he us if it is one of his earlier regenerations," the Brigadier explained.

"Well we better not keep him waiting," Riker walked forward and motioned for the security team to enter.

As expected the incongruous blue box stood boldly in the centre of the cargo bay, as if daring them to try to make sense of its arrival. The members of the security team who had not dealt directly with the TARDIS last time it had been on board the _Enterprise_ were certainly looking baffled as to what the object meant. In stark contrast, Benton and the Brigadier certainly did not hesitate and walked straight up to the TARDIS.

"Doctor, open up! You have some explaining to do!" the Brigadier announced loudly as he hammered on the door.

Riker caught Benton's eye and both men smiled at the Brigadier's indignation at being ignored. He was about to slam the door harder when it suddenly opened and a tall figure tumbled out and into the Brigadier, knocking them both to the floor.

"Ah Brigadier, I thought I might find you here," the Doctor stood up, fire extinguisher in hand. "And Benton! Well this certainly makes things easier."

"Good to see you again Doc," Benton helped the Brigadier to his feet before turning to the Time Lord and shaking his hand. "What's gone wrong now? And how did you find us?"

"Nothing has gone wrong, just a few teething problems as the TARDIS is not used to this universe," the Doctor replied defensively. "The TARDIS materialised on Earth and whilst I was fixing her I had a look at various broadcasts to try to familiarise myself with the time period. I happened to be skimming through the Starfleet communications and I saw the request for everyone to look for a blue box. Naturally that meant he would know something about you so I found out where the _Enterprise_ was located and once the TARDIS was running again I travelled over here."

"At least something has worked out well," Riker decided to enter the conversation, and to get a closer look at the unusual man before him.

"Commander William T. Riker, this is the Doctor," the Brigadier introduced the two.

Riker tried not to stare at the Time Lord, but his appearance was wildly different to the other regeneration they had met before. This version was taller and looked older than the person they had met before, with a shock of white hair. His young-old face appeared both stern and yet kind at the same time, which Riker would bet made many enemies underestimate the man. The only similarities Riker could find were a spark in the man's eyes and his unusual dress sense. Although it seemed extravagant and unnecessary, the green velvet jacket and frilly shirt suited the Doctor.

"Pleasure to meet you, I managed to do a bit of research on the _Enterprise_ whilst I was working on the TARDIS, and the work you do is truly admirable," the Doctor shook Riker's hand.

"Erm, thank you. We try our best," Riker was slightly taken aback.

"Well, now the TARDIS is fixed and we have found you, I think it is time we try to return to our own universe. Come along Brigadier," The Doctor started heading for the TARDIS door.

"But we can't just leave! We have to help Commander Riker out, we are partly responsible for what is happening," Benton protested.

"I agree, our presence here caused a chain of events that will culminate in a war unless we help stop it," the Brigadier seconded the protest.

"What have you two been doing?" the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Nothing, we just got thrown onto a hostile planet and the inhabitants have become so paranoid they have kidnapped Captain Picard," the tone of anger in the Brigadier's voice actually caused the Doctor to glance at him in surprise.

"Then we shall stay," the Doctor pulled the door shut and motioned for Riker to lead the way.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight – Rescue**

Jean-Luc was starting to worry. Kreed was refusing to listen to the truth and had started to take more drastic steps to try and extract the truth that he wanted to hear. The methods were brutal, but despite the intense pain the captain was not worried about them. What was concerning him the most was the more he saw Kreed the more obvious this man was paranoid and bordering on insane in his determination to find a reason to attack Rucan. With a man like that in charge of the military faction of this country, what hope did the _Enterprise_ and his crew have in stopping the approaching war?

"You are certainly stronger than I expected, for someone with polluted Rucan blood in your veins," Kreed massaged his fist and inspected his grazed knuckles.

"Then that surely proves that I am not a Rucan," Picard said between clenched teeth. Kreed had been immensely pleased when a blow to Jean-Luc's face had dislocated his jaw earlier in the day, as it meant he got to inflict even more pain by slowly pushing it back into place.

"No, it just means I have underestimated you lot and that your soldiers might not be as weak as we thought. See, even if you cannot speak you are betraying useful information that I can use to squash your pitiful civilisation. So how about you drop this foolish notion of honour and just tell me what I need to know? I'm certain I could arrange for you to be given a reasonably comfortable cell in our prisons," Kreed said with almost convincing sincerity.

"I doubt you would keep that promise even if I had information to tell you. I fear for your own country as much as I fear for the Rucan's who you seem so intent on destroying. If you get your war that you long for, I wonder how many people will survive on both sides once your appetite for mindless bloodshed has been sated?" Picard looked Kreed in the eyes and saw that his words struck a nerve.

"You insinuate that I am needlessly going to sacrifice my men to stop an imaginary threat? Let me tell you the Rucan's will stop at nothing to ensure our destruction, unless we stop them first!" Kreed bellowed before slamming a fist into Picard's chest and then a second to the side of his head. "Take him back to the cell."

The black clad guard leapt to obey and soon Kreed was left in the room on his own with nothing but his murderous thoughts.

"You're just going to end up dying here, you know," the guard had stayed outside the cell and waited for the prisoner to regain consciousness.

"It does seem inevitable," Jean-Luc admitted as he mentally assessed the damage.

The captain attempted to sit up and almost shouted in pain as his abused ribs set his nervous system on fire. Gingerly he stayed lying on his back and contented himself with turning his head to look at the door and the guard.

"Then why not tell him the truth and save yourself all this pain? You must be reaching the point where death would be a more favourable prospect to seeing Kreed four times a day," the guard asked.

"You've been at half of those sessions, and I'm surprised that you haven't picked up on the fact I am telling the truth," Jean-Luc sighed, wincing as the movement of his ribs caused more pain.

The guard seemed to hesitate for a second before he unlocked the door and stepped into the cell. Once inside he rummaged in his pocket and drew out two small white objects. "Here, these should help."

"What are they?" Picard asked cautiously as he watched the guard fill a cup with water from the sink and put both on the bed next to his head.

"Painkillers, they aren't going to be good enough to stop all the pain but it should numb you enough for you to sleep," the man carefully pushed the pills into Picard's mouth and helped him take a swig of water.

"Thank you, it seems there may be hope for this planet yet if there are more like you," Picard closed his eyes.

"You really are telling the truth," Lukas whispered to the unconscious man.

"Everyone ready to go?" the Doctor poked his head out of the TARDIS to look at the assembled group.

The Brigadier and Benton had just appeared through the cargo bay doors with Dafydd in tow. Riker and Beverly had been waiting outside the TARDIS and were looking uncomfortable.

"Is there a problem?" the Brigadier asked as they approached.

"I do not agree that Commander Riker should be a part of this rescue team. If it does not go well then both commanding officers will be missing," Beverly said before Will could speak.

"That should not be a problem; the TARDIS can land in the basement levels where the captain should be being held and therefore bypass the majority of security personnel. Then we only need Dafydd to lead the way and we can get Picard back to the TARDIS before they even know we are there," the Doctor said with such confidence that Beverly almost believed him.

"See, what was I saying?" Riker led the way to the TARDIS. "Your objection has been noted, now let's stop wasting time."

The Brigadier looked at Beverly with a hint of a smile on his face, and regally let her enter the TARDIS first. Both the UNIT men hovered outside for a short while and listened to the gasps and exclamations that were emitted by two of the _Enterprise_ officers.

"It is different to the last time I was in it," Worf said quietly to Benton.

"He has been working on the TARDIS, maybe he will make more modifications in the future," Benton replied whilst they watched Riker and Beverly try to understand the discrepancies in size. As he glanced around, the sergeant noticed Dafydd "You're remarkably calm."

"I think I have reached the point where things have stopped surprising me, my planet is so far behind yours and it seems anything imaginable is possible," Dafydd said absent-mindedly.

"Well technically my planet is still at your level," Benton corrected the scientist. "You'd make a great UNIT soldier if you can handle this without batting an eyelid. Should you fancy a career change, and if we can get back home, I'm sure you would do well with us."

"As much as I am flattered by the offer, I have spent my life avoiding military organisations so I must decline," Dafydd said easily.

Benton's reply was cut off by the Doctor's decision to proceed with their plan. Casually he walked round the console flicking switches and pressing buttons, before pushing the lever that sent the TARDIS into the nothingness through which it travelled.


End file.
